The Big Sister/ Little Sister Christmas auction benefiting the Food Bank of Delaware had its debut event this year. Freshman and senior Padua Academy girls headed to the cafetorium at flex on December 11 with their auction items. Each girl was told to bring a gift worth about five dollars, five dollars to use while bidding, and some goodies if they wanted to share with their sisters. The senior homeroom representatives acted as the auctioneers and auctioned off the wrapped presents like professionals.

     Little sisters and big sisters alike joined around the cafeteria tables to not only win something for themselves, but to also help their less fortunate neighbors who could win at the Food Bank of Delaware. Big sister Calla P. said reflected on her initial experience and stated, “My initial reaction was that this was a creative idea for an event, and I liked it because it was not an activity we would normally do.” Little sister Katherine F. included, “My initial reaction when I heard about the auction was a bit of confusion. I wasn’t quite sure how they were going to do the auction. But, I think Padua did a really good job of organizing it, and everyone had a really good time.” Little sister Emily W. says, “I was excited for the auction and it was quite fun. I got to bid on gifts and talk with my friends which was very enjoyable.” Initial reactions were key because it helped the big sisters and little sisters decide if they would participate in the event and encourage for the coordinators to do it with the incoming class of 2018.

     The incoming class of 2018 should have as much fun as the big sisters and little sisters have had and maybe even some more. To have the best events slight modifications will have to be made. Emily inputted, “The bidding process was kind of unorganized because some people got more than one present when others didn’t win anything. Besides that, I think the incoming class of 2018 should participate in this fun event!” Katherine F. thought otherwise about the bidding process. “The bidding process was pretty easy. We passed all our gifts to the top of the table, and one girl stood at the top of the table and auctioned off the gifts. It started at 25 cents, and she went up 25 cents each bid, until it went up to 5 dollars. If someone really wanted a gift they could automatically vote 5 dollars and get the gift right off. If you wanted to bid on something you just raised your hand,” she explained.

     The time was also used to talk, eat, and hangout. Big sister Alyssa M. used the auction to bond with her little sister. “[We bonded] at this event by talking about what we did during our two snow days and we also talked about where we wanted to do service together. We got to know what each of us liked and didn’t like and started to talk about where we wanted to do service,” she explained. Big sister Marisa C. and her little sister “bonded by being entertained by the aggressive bidders in our group and also discussing plans for Christmas break.”

     The overall event was a success. The auction collected over $650 dollars for the Food Bank of Delaware. The money that was raised was not the only good thing to come out of the event, though. “This event definitely put me in the christmas spirit. It felt like I got an early christmas gift and it gave me a sense of community by having fun and bidding against my Padua sisters. Also, the money went to the food bank, so I knew that if I spent the full $5 it was going to a good cause and helping other people have a nice dinner that might not be as fortunate as I am to have dinner every night,” Alyssa exclaimed.